No Lokayukta FIR yet against Siddaramaiah in Muda case, petitioner slams delay

Lokayukta police are seeking legal clarification before filing an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA site allotment case.

In Short

• Lokayukta police delay FIR against Siddaramaiah in MUDA case
• Special Court ordered probe after Governor's sanction upheld
• Complainant accuses police of disobeying court order

Despite a special court order, Lokayukta police in Karnataka are delaying the registration of an FIR against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case, citing the need for legal clarification.

On Wednesday, Special Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat ordered the Lokayukta police to launch an investigation against Siddaramaiah, following the Karnataka High Court's decision to uphold Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's sanction for the probe. The allegations involve the illegal allotment of 14 sites to Siddaramaiah's wife, BM Parvathi, by MUDA.

However, Lokayukta officials have not yet registered the FIR, prompting criticism from complainants. Snehamayi Krishna, one of the petitioners in the MUDA case, accused the Lokayukta police of disobeying the court order and playing a waiting game.

Krishna alleged that the Lokayukta police were not obeying the court order and the Mysuru Lokayukta Superintendent of Police T J Udesh was not “reachable.” He expressed frustration over the delay, alleging that the Lokayukta police were stalling under political pressure.

Siddaramaiah has vehemently denied the allegations and refused to resign, terming the charges against him a conspiracy by the BJP.

"I will not resign,” he said. “HD Kumaraswamy is a minister, he is on bail after an FIR was lodged against him. He is a minister in the Narendra Modi government. It's a politics by them to destabilise our government, that's why they are doing it. They tried Operation Lotus, but they failed because we are 136 legislators. They formed government without a mandate twice, did Yediyurappa win? We will fight it legally," Siddaramaiah added.

The BJP has intensified its demand for Siddaramaiah's resignation and called for the case to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for an impartial probe.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government on Thursday withdrew the general consent given to the CBI to investigate cases in the state, alleging that the agency was "biased." Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil denied any connection between this decision and the MUDA allegations.

The MUDA case revolves around allegations that compensatory sites with higher property value were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in lieu of her land acquired by the authority. MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme, sparking widespread criticism and legal challenges.

With PTI inputs